20250708201341-Andrew-Bishop-Submission: Difference between revisions
From Tsadra Foundation Advanced Contemplative Scholarships
20250708201341-Andrew-Bishop-Submission
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I took Bodhisattva vows with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche under the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya in October of 2015. | I took Bodhisattva vows with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche under the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya in October of 2015. | ||
|ngondrocomplete=No | |ngondrocomplete=No | ||
|ngondroPartialComplete=Yes | |ngondroPartialComplete=Yes | ||
|ngondroPartialBegin=2018-10-31 | |ngondroPartialBegin=2018-10-31 | ||
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|EndFunding=2029-12-31 | |EndFunding=2029-12-31 | ||
|costestimateCurrency=EUR | |costestimateCurrency=EUR | ||
|costestimate=32,250 | |||
|requestedamountCurrency=EUR | |requestedamountCurrency=EUR | ||
|requestedamount=30,000 | |requestedamount=30,000 | ||
|othermoney=Since I have been a full-time student for most of the last decade, I do not currently have a robust savings account. I also do not descend from a wealthy family and while they are supportive, they are not able to significantly contribute to this retreat. The reason I have waited until now to apply is in order to find paid work and calculate what I may be able to contribute from own side, as I am starting from zero. While 30,000 euros would cover most of the retreat expenses, I am relying on my own savings and the support of family and friends to cover the remaining costs as well as my personal expenses here in the US during that time, which include property taxes and insurance on a small retreat cabin in upstate CT. Additionally, one member of the sangha has pledged to offer me a monthly amount of 300 euros to cover health insurance, visas, and incidentals. Another has offered a small lump sum to help cover monthly bills in the U.S., and I am hoping to have some money saved from my side for offerings and post-retreat transition | |othermoney=Since I have been a full-time student for most of the last decade, I do not currently have a robust savings account. I also do not descend from a wealthy family and while they are supportive, they are not able to significantly contribute to this retreat. The reason I have waited until now to apply is in order to find paid work and calculate what I may be able to contribute from own side, as I am starting from zero. While 30,000 euros would cover most of the retreat expenses, I am relying on my own savings and the support of family and friends to cover the remaining costs as well as my personal expenses here in the US during that time, which include property taxes and insurance on a small retreat cabin in upstate CT. Additionally, one member of the sangha has pledged to offer me a monthly amount of 300 euros to cover health insurance, visas, and incidentals. Another has offered a small lump sum to help cover monthly bills in the U.S., and I am hoping to have some money saved from my side for offerings and post-retreat transition | ||
|letterofmotivation=As long as I can remember, this mind has been oriented toward wanting to better understand reality and serve others. From a young age I was attuned to the suffering of myself and others, and demonstrated both a deep capacity for compassion and commitment to justice. This combination of curiosity, compassion, and courage has displayed itself in many different iterations of personal expression, commitment, and affiliations over time. I was raised Catholic and was inspired by the teachings of love and community, but struggled with exclusivity and could not find teachers interested in humoring my existential inquiries. As I continued to grapple with an insatiable urge to find answers for myself and others, I found myself at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling as a 20 year-old student on a study abroad semester. I was burning with questions and a desire to meet people who had discovered some shred of personal freedom and universal insight. I found that these qualities were endorsed and taught in Buddhism, exhibited by the monastic teachers at RYI, and most powerfully by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche upon meeting him and receiving Teachings. | |||
I was struck by much during that 2013 semester in Nepal, but most by the dawning reality that there is a living tradition of embodied freedom that is rooted in compassion and wisdom inherent to all beings. It felt then and continues to feel as if the discovering of Buddhist Teachings and Teachers is like discovering a wish-fulfilling jewel. Increasingly it feels more and more like returning home; like discovering new mirrors. After 12 years of deep commitment to learning from and within this tradition, I am blessed to have the aspiration to spend a few years of this life engaged in committed practice under the guidance of Teachers that know and love me, and that I love and trust. | |||
As someone who is naturally very skeptical, I understand for myself the importance of combining study, reflection and meditation. While I have had the aspiration to do a three-year retreat since 2018, I was instructed by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche to first complete a Masters at RYI. I have therefore strived to understand and apply the Teachings through study until this point, and have been blessed with many opportunities for shorter retreats and group ritual. After completing the MA and spending time serving my Teacher and the center where I hope to retreat, I feel ready and eager to devote myself to practice within the support of extended retreat. I am extremely fortunate to have a close relationship with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Lama Tenzin Sangpo, our monastic sangha, and the community of Gomde Pyrenees such that this particular retreat feels aligned. I have good familiarity with the practices of our lineage, and deep faith in the Teachers that uphold them. To spend the next three and half years cultivating love, compassion, and wisdom for the benefit of all beings is a rare and invaluable opportunity that I have tried my best to prepare for. | |||
|CostLetterAuthorFirst=Mikk | |||
|CostLetterAuthorLast=Tamme | |||
|CostLetterPhone=+3725531133 | |||
}} | }} | ||
Revision as of 16:01, 14 July 2025
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